Subject: Terminated
by Mistran
Summary: A bad start of a day at Black Mesa saves the life of a single scientist. Now in Acts!
1. Prologue: Day One

Miric looked up and yawned as he turned off his alarm. On closer inspection, the clock was long overdue. Grabbing his labcoat he stormed out of the room and towards the tram leading down to the Test Labs. However, just as he got around the corner, the tram left for Sector C.

"Perfect, just Perfect!", he exclaimed and turned around, "Guess i could grab some food while i wait for the next tram." He dropped his labcoat on the railing and headed back indoor.

--

Meanwhile, in a nearby camp, a special batch was being prepared for departure.

"The scientists at the facility is going to perform a specific experiment today. We've been asked to standby should anything happen. Private Hobbs, Cano, and Hendik, you'll go in first. The rest of you stick behind them", the Colonel looked at his watch.

The team got onto the osprey's and prepared for take off.

--

"Still serving this old garbage?", Miric slided his plate down the table, "Why can't we get actual food anywhere?" He looked at the trams, spotting the one he was supposed to reach.

"Well, i bet they'll need me in Sector C. Any ideas how to get there?", he turned to one of the guards behind him.

"The old lift system is still in proper use. You could take the lift down, go through the sewage network, out the back of the mountain, and in through the ventilation shaft. That'd get you there in time", he laughed and returned to his duties as Miric got up.

He walked over to the door, putting in his password. The door opened, revealing a long and dark hallway leading to a few crates concealing the entrance to the old lift system. It hadn't been used for years, but it was still in the maintaince plans. Miric pushed aside the crates, jumping into the shaft below. He crawled into the elevator and used his access card to turn it on.

He pushed the Down button, setting the lift in movement. After a few seconds of drive, the lift came to a halt. The doors flew open, revealing an even darker sewage tunnel. "Can this day get any worse?!", he complained as he continued through the tunnel.

"Doctor Fell?", a voice sounded from his radio. Miric picked it, "Yes?" he answered.

"Where are you? The Experiment is about to begin. We need you up here!", Miric sighed.

"I'm on my way. Just... don't mess up, all right?", turning a corner, he was able to see the exit to the side of the mountain.

The Scientist on the radio had forgotten to turn it off, "Power to stage 1 emitters in 3,2,1. I'm seeing predictable phase arrays.", the voice exclaimed. Miric simply sighed and turned it off, heading out onto the mountain side.

As he headed across the side, passing several water pipes, the mountain began to shake violently.

"Hey, what's going on in there?!", Miric exclaimed as a rock barely missed him.

"Shutting down-no, attempted shutdown. It's not-it's not, it's not shutting down!", the voice exclaimed, followed by a scream as a part of the mountain side exploded, sending Miric flying onto the pass below.

(End of Prologue)


	2. Act I: Lockdown

Moaning, Miric looked up at the ledge. "Doc? Doc?!", he hit his Radio a couple of times before getting on his feets. He proceeded over to a small hatch reading _Sector C Ventilation Entrance_.

"At least i reached my destination", he thought to himself as he removed the panel blocking the entrance. He proceeded into a huge metal tunnel with doors to several shafts. He approached a voice operated door.

"Doctor Miric Fell," he stated as the door's lamp turned red.

"Access Denied." it exclaimed, causing Miric to nearly fall off the ledge.

"State the reason for lockdown", he ordered and hit the keypad a couple of times.

"Security Breach in Sector A, Casualties in Sectors B, C, and E. Complete Destruction of Area 8 Topside Dormitories and Area 7 Recreational Facilities. Personal is redirected to Sectors F and G", the door's lamp shut off.

Miric jumped down from the ledge and continued through the huge wind tunnel. To his luck, it was a rather cold day, so the tunnel didn't need to be used. However, knowing that fire must have erupted, he had to get out before the water was redirected to the wind tunnel.

Heading through a wooden door, he found himself in the vicinity of Sector G, which was the Hydro Electric. He could hear the cooling systems working their duty, and the water brushing against the side of the dam.

"Hey, Miric!", someone called from above him on a catwalk. He looked up, spotting Jonathan Thrik, his fellow scientist. "Did you hear the lockdown? What happened?" he asked.

Miric approached the ladder, "I don't know. Seems like it's the fools in Sector C again. I was going there, but the explosion has ripped apart Sector B, C and E. I didn't have time to override the security measures either", he took a glance across the large turbines.

"Odd. They were going to run a series of tests today. Do you think Doctor Vance and the others got out alive?", Jonathan asked, unlocking the door behind him.

"I'm unsure. I spoke with Eli only seconds before the explosion. My radio is dead, so i can't contact them. I sure hope they're alive though", Miric followed Jonathan into a huge office. Looking at the security monitors, he briefly saw something that looked like a mutated rat.

--

The Osprey's flew over the canyon, approaching the Black Mesa facility.

"Hobbs, you're going to cut the power so we can break open the doors to the facility. Sergeant Lanek will be your commander for the time being", the Colonel turned to the pilot, "ETA on the LZ?" he asked.

"Two minutes, Sir", the pilot responded as the mountain came into sight.

"This is it, guys! The other teams will take care of disposing the scientists. We most likely have a resonance cascade on our hands, so get ready for the worst!", as he finished the sentence, the green light flickered on and ropes fell from the ceiling. Each of them grabbed hold of a rope and jumped out as soon as the Osprey came to a hold.

--

"Did you see anyone else on the way here?" Jonathan sat down behind the desk and looked out the window.

"No, but i find it odd that the explosion blew out the mountain side", he sat down in the chair, picking up a note from Wallace Breen, "You got the notice too, i see?"

Jonathan nodded, putting a pistol on the table, "Just in case. You know, i've been thinking about requesting transfer to Sector C for a while. Now i think it was quite abit of luck i didn't. Whatever happened they-", Jonathan was interrupted by a voice on the radio

"This is Eli Vance, any survivors out there?!", the voice asked

"Affirmative, Vance. Jonathan Thrik here"

"Oh good lord. Doctor Freeman is heading to the surface to get help. Is Doctor Fell with you?"

"I'm here, Eli. I was just on the mountain side, but something blew out the wall. What happened?", he responded, picking up the radio.

"A Resonance Cascade. So many are dead... I'll stay here. I think it's safe for now"

Miric put down the radio, "Do that. I'll try and catch up with Freeman. I got the feeling the military wont be happy to see us". Miric got up from the chair and picked up the pistol, "Jonathan, i need you to keep an eye on the monitors. Lock down the dam if anyone approaches, okay?"

Jonathan nodded, "Just take the gun. I wont need it"

Miric went out and to the left, heading up the ladder to the surface...


	3. Act I: Off Rails

"Hobbs and Hendik, you take the right side of the dam, Cano and I will search the interior of the dam. Execute any scientists you find", Lanek went over to a door to his left, unlocking it and heading in.

Hobbs sighed, "Why is it we're going to execute the scientists again?"

"Because this incident is top secret. No one needs to know what happened here", Hendik approached a small hatch, "Stay here and guard, i'll check the ventilation shafts"

Hobbs turned around, glancing across the street, "I don't like it. Too... silent", he thought to himself and approached a wallpanel.

--

Miric pushed aside the hatch, scouting the area. Spotting a HECU soldier, he quickly ducked before making sure he was occupied before crawling up again.

"Jon, theres a guard up here. Can you take care of him?", he whispered into his radio.

"Count on it!", Jonathan answered. Only a moment later, the panel overloaded, knocking Hobbs backwards.

"Nice job", Miric headed over to the unconcious HECU. "Tsch, they're sending recruits to take care of us?", he said as he picked up the weapon and vest before heading left, towards the mountain side.

"Miric, i'm going to cut the connection. According to the digital map, you need to take the mountain side into the tram tunnel. The entrance to the office has collapsed, and Vance is still stuck so he can't help you out", Jonathan commanded as the radio shut off.

Dragging the unconcious Hobbs away, Miric decided to drop his labcoat to relieve some of the weight. Halfway down the road, he let go and took Hobbs radio. He proceeded over the edge, onto the small ledge leading to the tram entrance.

--

"Hobbs? Hobbs?!", Hendik shouted from the ventilation shaft. "Hobbs?! Are you out there?!" He screamed. With no response, he climbed through the hatch only to find Hobbs gone. "Oh great", he sighed and turned on his radio, "Regroup in Sector C, Hobbs is gone".

"Negative. Regroup in Sector D. The other teams have been getting resistance from the guards there", Lanek commanded and shut off the connection.

Hendik just happened to glance down the road, spotting a labcoat. On further inspection, he found a name tag. "_Doctor Miric Fell_? I bet Hobbs took good care of him", he laughed as he turned his attention towards the office complex.

--

The hatch ventilating the tram tunnel flew down, bouncing off the floor. Miric stuck his head through the hole, "Okay... This is going to be harder than i thought", he thought to himself as he climbed into the tunnel.

He landed with a _Thump_ nearly breaking his legs. After recovering, he proceeded down the rail. Before long, he reached a door with the words _Sector C: Hazardous Materials & Experimentation_. Unlocking the door, he looked around at the bodies.

"Oh dear..." he mumbled as he approached the body of a guard leaning over a computer. Entering his security codes, he gained access to the monitors. After some redirections, he managed to shut off the lockdown in Sector C.

"Doctor Vance?" he asked over the loudspeakers, awaiting a response.

"Miric? Is that really you? I thought you had died!" Eli exclaimed approaching the door Gordon had left through a while earlier, "There's a malfunction in the laser programming. Can you shut it off?"

"I'll see what i can do", Miric began tapping the keys, "It's locked. I'm going to reroute it through the room though. You'll have about a minute before it explodes!"

Eli nodded and got ready as the laser moved out of sight. As soon as he was in safety, Miric locked the part Eli had come from down.

"Head topside. It should be safe for now. I'll meet you there!", Miric ended the conversation and headed down the corridor.


	4. Act I: Complex Society

Stalking down the corridor, Miric avoided the electrical wires hanging from the ceiling. Peaking into a room, he saw something moving.

"Excuse me...?" He asked as he put safety off the rifle. The figure, not reacting to his voice, seemed to approach him. "Stay back!", he popped forth, aiming at the figure. A groan and five shots later, and the zombie was on the floor "Oh dear..."

He continued down the stairs, looking at the bodies to his left and right. He noticed the door to the office complex had been unlocked. On further inspection, he could see the bloody footsteps of a HEV suit, "Oh, so Freeman has been this way", he grinned as he entered the office complex.

He saw the light flashing at the end of the corridor. He approached the door, opening it slowly. To his horror, he saw the body of a scientist hanging from the mouth of the ceiling. "Holy shit", Miric backed off taking a few shots at the creature. Returning the to the corridor, he jumped into the ventilation shaft, grabbing a hold of the ladder.

"Miric?", a voice called from above, "Miric Fell? Oh thanks god you're here! I can't get down, and the military is trying to gain access to the room"

Looking up, Miric saw someone he could only identify as fellow scientist, Eric Dobbe. "Jump, Dobbe. I'll catch you!", he shouted.

Taking a leap, Dobbe accidentally hit the wall. In a last second saving, Miric grabbed a hold of Dobbe's arm.

"Thanks so much, Miric", Dobbe thanked as he got onto the ledge above the room he had been in. "Where are you heading?" he asked.

Loading his pistol, Miric looked up, "Topside, of course. Before coming here, i worked as a field medic for the HECU, so i know their procedures"

Dobbe shook his head, "You must be crazy. I have the access codes to the topside doors, however, i recommend going down to the old Lambda Complex. I heard a few scientists sought down there because of the teleportation technology".

"I'll head topside, you'll go down to the Lambda Complex. If i know them right, they'll bomb the surface soon, so it'll be safer down here"

Nodding, Dobbe handed Miric an access card, "Good luck, Miric"

Miric went over to a huge blast door, inserting the card into the keypad. "Access Granted. Welcome, Eric Dobbe", the voice greeted Miric.


	5. Act I: Courage Factor

The door flew open as he approached. Looking around in the dark, Miric found the lightswitch. As he turned it on, he was shocked to find a man infront of him.

"Hello there, Doc. Remember me?", Hobbs smiled as he sent a punch between the eyes of Miric. The last thing Miric saw was the HECU soldier smiling as everything went to dark.

--

"Okay, i have the Doctor. Where do we regroup?", Hobbs asked on the radio.

"Dispose of him. Freeman is getting annoying. We're evacuating the facility, so get your gear together!" the Sergeant commanded on the radio.

Hobbs glanced at Miric, "I know you're concious, i saw you move. You know, i'm not so sure whether i should dispose of you"

Miric opened his eyes, "Umfh... Why not? You got your orders"

"True enough. But i need you to get me to the main entrance," Hobbs grabbed a water bottle, throwing it to Miric, "And we're close to the exit. Only a few floors above us. However, the door is locked down with a retinal scanner"

Miric took a sip of the water, "And how do i know you won't kill me when you're done with me?"

Shaking his head, Hobbs threw a pistol to Miric, "If i do, defend yourself, okay? I know of you, Fell. Corporal in the HECU until you dropped out to become an agent for the CIA. Failing that, you fell back on your MIT graduation. You studied with Freeman i suppose?"

Miric nodded, "That's true"

"Then you must know his strategy aswell?", Hobbs got up.

Taking another sip, Miric closed the bottle, "He's unpredictable. You're better off just getting out of here. At least you'll live then"

Miric put the bottle aside and got up. Loading the pistol, he holstered it and secured his vest. "Let's get going then?"

--

Lanek looked at his watch, "Get the Osprey ready, Cano. Hendik, secure the door. Don't let anyone in if they're not with Hobbs"

"Yes sir!", Hendik exclaimed, running over to the door. He began entering a security code into the console, causing the door to slowly roll down.

Cano turned on the engines on the Osprey, cutting off the fuel line in the process.

"Damnit, Cano! You nearly hit me!", Lanek exclaimed, dodging the falling fuel line.

--

Gunshots echoed through the hallway, "Get down with you!", Hobbs shouted as headcrabs were thrown back by the bullets. "What are these things?!", he asked as he kicked one.

"I might aswell tell you. These _things _are aliens from a planet called Xen. We were going to test some portal technology, but something went terribly wrong. We created a Resonance Cascade. Basically, the aliens are capable of teleporting between our worlds", Miric shot a zombie approaching from behind

"Oh, well that's a relief. I thought they had served that military rationed soup again", Hobbs joked turning a corner, "Here's the door. Do your work"

Miric approached the door, putting his eyes to the retinal scanner.

"Doctor Miric Fell. Access Granted", the voice said as the doors flew open.

Entering a control room overlooking the landing pad, they looked down at the team.

"Damn. I doubt they'll let us through", Miric looked at Lanek guarding the aircraft.

"Leave that to me. Just keep out of the way", Hobbs reloaded his rifle, "Hopefully it won't come to violence".

--

Hendik looked up from the console on the wall, "Robert? Oh!", Hendik quickly punched the codes in, opening the gate. However, he realised that he had reacted too fast when he saw Miric behind Hobbs.

"You were told to dispose of him!", Hendik exclaimed, reaching for his pistol.

"He was the only method of escaping, Hendik", Hobbs tried to calm him.

Hendik sighed, "Well, if he helped you, i guess it's okay", he turned around to face Lanek pointing a gun in his face.

"Move aside, Private", he commanded. Hendik nodded and moved to the right, "Failing an order, Soldier? What have you come to?"

Hobbs reached for his gun, "You wouldn't know, would you?"

"Don't try anything funny, Robert", he warned as he turned his attention to Miric.

"What are you going to do? Shed more innocent blood?", Hobbs teased.

Hendik noticed Lanek's finger twitching. In the fraction of a second, Hendik disarmed Lanek and pushed him down, "Bad idea, Sergeant"

Lanek looked up at Hendik, "Heh, you don't think i only carry one weapon, do you?"

Hobbs turned his attention to Hendik for a second as his eyes widened, "Noooo!" he exclaimed as a gunshot was heard, followed by three more.

Looking at his chest, Hendik fell backwards, hitting the ground. Lanek was already dead on the other side.

Confused by the gunshots, Cano jumped out of the Osprey. First noticing Hobbs with his gun, then Hendik and Lanek on the ground. "What have you done, Robert?" he exclaimed as he reached for the rifle in the Osprey.

"Don't make a mistake, Cano", Hobbs warned, approaching as he holstered his pistol, "We can still make it out alive".

Hesitating, Cano lowered his rifle. Turning around, he suddenly heard a shout, followed by a stinging pain as something latched onto his head.

"Shoot it!", Miric exclaimed as Hobbs stumbled backwards. Taking no chances, Miric grabbed his pistol and fired at Cano twice. The Headcrab flew off, hitting the ground like a stone.

They both approached Cano's body on the side of the Osprey. "He never saw it coming", Miric sighed, moving his body onto the Osprey.

"You know, Miric, someone has to take the blame for the death of three soldiers", Hobbs crawled onboard the Osprey.

Taking a last look at the facility, Miric shut the sides and sat down as the Osprey left Black Mesa forever.


	6. Epilogue: Seven to One

The Channel 7 News Logo rotated before zooming in the left corner.

"Miric Fell has been convicted for the murders of John Lanek, Ankowic Cano, and Ethan Hendik. He's been sentenced to lifetime in the highest security prison", the woman put down a piece of paper as a video of a giant tornado appears, "The storms continue to rage across the world. No one has any explanation for those storms, but some nations has declared martial law"

A picture of a person in black armor appears, "The violent outbreaks across the world also continue. The persons seem to be wearing this kind of clothing, which is resistant to normal bullets. The US Army has no official statement yet, except that they're working on catching the violators"

Hobbs leaned back in his seat, turning off the TV. A stewardess walked up to him, "Can i interest you in anything, Mister?", Hobbs looked at her, "Can you tell me where Eli Vance is sitting?", Hobbs replied. She nodded, pointing up the hallway.

Eli looked up at Hobbs, "Robert Hobbs, i presume?"

Hobbs nodded, "I was told to make sure you got safely to your destination. I promised Miric that much"

"Thank you", Eli smiled, leaning back. However, only moments later, something scraped the side of the plane.

Hobbs looked out, spotting an odd shape brushing against the side of the plane, "Vance, get up", Hobbs handed over a parachute, "Jump out. I kept it around incase this should happen"

In the middle of the panic, Hobbs opened the door, pushing out Eli as the plane slowly broke apart. Looking down, he realised the plane was heading towards a forest. The last thing Hobbs saw was a white light, and then a stinging pain in his knee...

End of Epilogue


	7. Act II: Unforseen Consequences

**New York Museum for Science, 9 Years Later**

"It's an honour to have you here, Mayor Kilet", the man in the raincoat greeted Joan Kilet, Mayor of New York City.

"I like what you've done with the place, Doctor", she took a quick glance around the hall, spotting a logo, "_Black Mesa Research Facility_? Impressive. I like it"

"What about Mister Fell, how long does he have?" he asked, taking the Mayor's coat.

"He's being moved to New York in this very hour. Where's the sample you promised me, Doctor?", she asked and motioned for her escort to move away, "I've been waiting for this"

"Ah yes. I'm sure you'll find it interesting", the man removed his hood and unlocked a door leading into a recreation of Sector C. "This way, Miss Kilet", he said and turned down the hall to a door where the entrance to the test chamber had been.

She gasped as she entered, spotting several Xen species and weapons around the locale. "The President want's to know how long you are. How many more can you hold?"

The man sighed, "A few more i guess. Twenty maybe. Why? Do they keep entering Earth's atmosphere?"

"It's worse. We've had sightings of the Combine Empire again. Our cover story is beginning to wash away, and the truth is leaking out," Joan took a deep breath "And the marine is still on the loose"

He sighed again, "All right. I'll get it done", he bend down to pick up a picture from the floor.

The mayor nodded and left the room as the man got up, turning the picture around. He looked at himself, "Wallace, what have you done?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Judith, you know i need to do this. Otherwise, humanity will fall", Breen turned around.

"I'm aware of this. But you're also fully aware that Fell won't be easy to handle, right?" Judith stepped forth and picked up a sample from the table.

"Oh don't be so silly. He's under our control. I have promised our benefactors to give them a... _Gift_. If you catch my meaning?", he laughed and dropped into the chair, "Don't worry. This time, the experiment will be a sucess. Freeman won't be here to screw up. All we need is Fell now, and i expect you'll get it done?"

Judith nodded, putting down the sample again as she left the room. She pulled out a cellphone from her pocket, "Are you ready, Eli?", she asked.

"Mmhm, we're standing by at the crossing. Robert's going to ambush the caravan with the rest of his squad", the voice on the cellphone replied.

She sighed, "Are you sure Hobbs can do this? He barely survived nine years ago"

Eli laughed, "Of course he'll be all right. He is, after all, one of the survivors. Oh, wait, i can see the caravan", Eli hung up.

Continuing down the hallway, Judith turned left into a hallway leading back to the museum...


	8. Act II: Time Fall

Looking up at the clock as it ticked past ten, Miric sighed and returned to his project. A machine capable of opening huge portals. Looking up again, he noticed a man in a blue suit outside the window. Approaching it to open it for him, he noticed he was holding a briefcase.

"Can i help you, Sir?", he asked as he opened the window.

"I believe you can. I need you to take a certain task. You will be well rewarded, of course", the mysterious stranger put down his suitcase.

"Let me hear it. Anything to get away from this university"

The stranger opened the suitcase, revealing a contract. "Sign this, Please?", he handed Miric the contract.

"Ehm, all right i guess", Miric looked at the contract, reading it for himself, _"By signing this contract, you relieve your employee's of any responsibility of events in the past, present, and future. You will obey any orders given without hesitation"_. Nodding, Miric signed the contract.

The stranger smiled and nodded as the room began to fade around Miric. He caught a quick glimpse of a nearby newspaper saying _August 21st 1925_.

--

Miric looked around, the truck was crossing a bridge. "You know, you need to stop dreaming so violently", one of the guards said as he helped Miric up.

"Huh? Where... Where am i?", he asked looking out the back of the truck.

"You're being transported to New York on request of the president," the guard took a quick glance around "You're not to be harmed"

Miric sighed and sat down, looking out the back of the truck. He spotted the mysterious man he had spoken to in his dream.

"So, who exactly are you?", the guard asked.

"Miric Fell, of course?", Miric gave the guard a confused look.

"That's funny. I looked you up. You died August 21st 1925. Disappearing from a populated university, Miric Fell's body was found two kilometers outside the city" suddenly, the truck came to a hold, "Hey, what's going o-", the guard was interrupted as a bullet hit his head.

At the end of the truck, Robert Hobbs came into view, unlocking it. "I guess this is what you call _Hostile Takeover?_", he joked as he helped down Miric.

Looking around, Miric noticed everything had turned blue, and the mysterious man once again approached him. "Very well! Now, how about we... fix the past?", he laughed as everything faded to black.

"Who are you?", Miric exclaimed, shocking the man.

"Me? I'm a friend, of course. Remember these words, Miric Fell; _Panorama Delicious_", the man faded out as Miric found himself in the lobby of Sector C, thirty minutes before the incident.

"Morning Doctor Fell. How's your day?", the guard asked.

"Terrible. I gotta ask; Where is Doctor Freeman?" Miric looked around the lobby.

"Freeman? He's on his way i believe"

Miric nodded and began walking down the hallway. He turned left, entering the data room. On his left, he noticed a computer was blinking _Please Enter Password_.

Taking a quick glance, he remembered the words he had been told. Punching in the password, the system began loading. After a good minute of loading, the words _System Overloaded. Restarting._ appeared.

"Doctor Fell?", a voice behind him called, "What did you do?! The system crashed!" the scientist exclaimed.

Miric noticed the blue suited man again, this time in the hallway. He followed him to a room at the end of the hallway. Entering, the door locked behind him.

"Very good, Fell. Freeman should be able to get a fix on all this, and survive. In your timeline... Well, let's just say the HECU got a new target practice"

Miric noticed Gordon Freeman passing outside the window.

"I should be going, Doctor Fell. In a few minutes, you will die. However, be aware that you might be able to save someone", the stranger turned around the faded away as he walked towards the wall.

Miric ran down the hallway, into the elevator, passing Freeman when he wasn't looking, and into the lower sectors. "Resonance Cascade... Now i know it!", he continued down the hallway spotting Eli at the end of it.

"Vance, you've got to listen. You're going to risk a Resonance Cascade doing this. I know it!"

Eli looked at him and grinned, "Why do you think that?", he asked as Freeman approached.

"Pl-", Miric was interrupted by an exploding panel nearby, "Eli, do it. Call the scientists, and warn them of the risks!"

Eli sighed, "All righ then". He turned on the loudspeakers for the testchamber, explaining the dangers. "Now, Miric, it's all up to them. I can't do anymore", he sighed and wen't back to the computer.

Only a few minutes later, what he had feared came to reality. The panel behind them exploded once more, sending a shard into Miric's leg, causing him to collapse.

"Miric! Damn, what happened?!", Eli kneeled down to check the wound as Gordon entered the room again.

Eli shook his head, "Why didn't they listen? We tried to warn them."

Miric looked up, noticing Gordon, "I never thought I'd see a resonance cascade, let alone

create one". Miric sighed, "_I was supposed to die before the resonance cascade_" he thought to himself.

Eli stood up as Gordon approached. He could only make out a few words, "... I'm too afraid to move him. Please get to the surface as soon as you can and let someone know we're stranded down here"

Miric leaned back as he watched the two leaving his sight. Slowly everything fading as he leaned backwards. He closed his eyes as he felt the pain disappearing from his leg. Soon, he heard a familiar voice near him, "Very good, Doctor Fell. We're most pleased with your performance. Thanks to you, Doctor Freeman is now employed, you died in peace, and Robert Hobbs escaped with his team"

The man leaned down as Miric opened his eyes, "Don't worry. Miric Fell died, but you're still alive" once more, everything faded from his eyesight.

Looking up once more, he saw Eli Vance standing by a grave. "They'll remember you. But not the way you remember yourself. To them, you were the mysterious scientist that knew of the future. To yourself, you were the survivor of the incident", Miric turned to him.

"All right, what do i do now?"

The man smiled, walking away, "Tell Mister Breen to surrender". Everything once more faded to black. When Miric opened his eyes again, he found himself on a street populated with people...


	9. Act II: Certain Benefits

Miric took a look around the crowd, seeing several newspaper stands, none of them mentioning Black Mesa. Obviously, there was a meaning with him waking up on the street in what looked to be a smaller town.

"Excuse me?", he approached a police officer investigating an accident, "What happened here?"

"Just a meteor strike. Nothing to worry about", he replied.

Look over the officer's shoulder, Miric spotted what looked to be a Combine strider in the crater.

"No... You have to get out of here. You have no idea what that thing is", Miric warned.

"And who might you be?", he asked

"M--" Miric remembered he was supposed to have died in Black Mesa, "Martin. Martin Hobbs"

The officer pushed Miric aside, "Meet me at three AM in the alley on the corner of Kings Street and Jemenoh Avenue"

Miric was left confused, but agreed.

--

The clock ticked to three AM as Miric entered the alley, spotting the officer near the end of it.

"So, who are you really?", he asked

"Martin Ho-", Miric was interrupted

The officer grabbed Miric, "No. I'm the only Hobbs in this nation. I've checked"

Miric sighed, "Miric Fell. Black Mesa Scientist"

He put down Miric, "Never heard of you. But you may wan't to seek out Isaac Kleiner. He's working in Eastern Europe with the science lab there. I heard there's been a few problems", the officer turned around, beginning to walk towards the street.

"Wait, before you go. You said your name was Hobbs. What is your first name?", Miric shouted, causing the officer to stop and turn around.

"Robert Hobbs, of course", he smiled as he left to the street.

This brought confusion to Miric's mind. It was apparently possible for the others to slightly remember the alternative timeline, despite Miric never meeting half of them.

--

"No, Isaac, i have not yet co-", Eli turned to the computer, "I said no i haven't completed the program yet. We only have one try at this!"

Eli sighed, "I know how dangerous it is. I know it'll be hard to find Gordon after all this, but i'm sure he's all right! Look, i have to go now", Eli put down the phone and turned around as someone knocked on his door. "Come in", he shouted.

A man in military armor walked in.

"Ah, Colonel! What a pleasant surpri-"

"Cut the crap, Vance. The portal storms are getting worse. Is the program ready or not?", the Colonel closed the door.

"The program is ready when it's ready", Eli turned back to the computer, "I'll need alittle more time"

The Colonel sighed, "You have an hour"

--

Miric woke up in the plane as they landed in the airport. Exiting the plane, he was met by the army patrolling the airport.

"I need to see a Doctor Kleiner?", Miric told one of the guards.

"Follow me", he replied, signaling for another guard to open the door as they approached.

Miric would never have believed what met him, hadn't it been because it spoke to him.

"Sergeant Hobbs, i presume?", Wallace spun the chair around, "I hear you've been asking about the Black Mesa incident? Can i ask you a question?"

Miric nodded, "I guess you can"

"How does one man. One single man. Destroy years of work, just for the good of his own?" Wallace took a pause, "Don't answer that. I know the answer. The vortigaunts like to call him the Free Man. But he's not so free anymore. His... _Contract_ has been signed with the blood of his enemies"

"Excuse me?", Miric approached.

"I know you're not who you claim to be. I'm fully aware of the existence of a certain person. Let me give you this offer; You help the Combine Empire through the portal, i'll let you have a few benefits"

Miric looked around the room, "Deal. What do i have to do?"

Wallace laughed, pressing a button on his laptop. A video began playing.

"Doctor Eli Vance is working on some... project. I wan't you to steal it when it's done. It's being kept in the Ofnigoh Base in this city. Go and retrieve the project, and we'll talk business. Take a few of the Combine soldiers that has been sent already"

Miric nodded as five Combine soldiers walked in.


	10. Act II: Combine Invasion

Miric signaled for the Combine Captain to place an explosive device on the door. Not having any choice but to obey, he did so. The team took cover as the door blew in, sending piece of metal flying anywhere.

"Unit Five Three Seven, search for the project. I'm going to look for Doctor Vance", Miric pulled down the gasmask, activating Night vision as the base went into Emergency Mode.

Turning down a corner, Miric noticed a sign, "Hazardous Enviromental Suit Test Chamber? I remember that from Black Mesa!"

Opening the door, Miric was met by several HEV prototypes. He noticed one of them had blood stains on it. On further inspection, Miric noticed the name _Gordon Freeman_ ontop of the container.

"We found it near the entrance to Black Mesa," A voice disrupted Mirics thoughts "We presumed Gordon had died. A week later, we found his crowbar, no corpse. Not even an intestine"

Miric looked for the source of the voice.

"So, you're here to clean up the mess we're trying to stop from happening?", suddenly Eli stepped forth from behind a bookshelf.

"Doctor Vance, you have to come with me", Miric demanded.

Eli laughed, "So you can do what? Execute me? Make it look like an accident?"

Grabbing a hold of his arm, Miric began to pull Eli with him, "Doctor Breen want's a project. What does it do?"

"Why should i tell you? Not like you're going to get out of here alive!"

Miric sighed and took off his gasmask, "Because i'm going to try and stop what's happening. I've seen it happening before!"

"But you're supposed to be dead!", Eli exclaimed

"There's no time to explain. The Combine will be here any moment, quickly, where is the project?"

Eli ran over to a keypad, turning it to the side to reveal a second keypad. Punching in the code, the wall slid to the left revealing a suit of some sort.

"And that is...?", Miric asked as he approached what looked like a futuristic version of the HEV Suit

"We call it the TDS Suit. Time Dialation Searcher. It searches for a rift in Time, and in theory, is able to shift dimensions", Eli unlocked the container

Approaching the suit, Miric reached out to touch it, "It feels like... Metal? How is that any good for travelling between dimensions?"

Eli sighed, "You won't understand. Put it on, you may be able to get out of here alive before the Combine arrives"

Miric looked at it and pulled it out of the container, beginning to put it on over his vest.

"So what do i do?", he asked and looked for buttons

"Concentrate on the location. You wi-", Eli was interrupted by banging on the door. He quickly locked the secret room, "You haven't got much time. Quickly, think of a timeline you wish to go to"

Miric looked around as everything began to turn to an orange color, he quickly covered his eyes as a bright flash seemed to explode into his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself outside the labaratory, with ruins where the town once stood.

Entering the street, he found himself standing in nothing but ruins. Picking up a newspaper, he saw a headline which shocked him, _Alien Forces invade Earth!_

Miric suddenly realised why the city seemed so empty; It had been completely destroyed. In a radius of three kilometers from the city's center, everything had been destroyed. Nothing but a crater remained.

He looked up as he saw an Osprey engage a Combine Gunship...


End file.
